📸 PhotoPhoto: Charles J. Sharp · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons Source
Satanic Leaf-tailed Gecko
Uroplatus phantasticus (Satanic Leaf-tailed Gecko · エダハヘラオヤモリ)
💡 Everyday Comparisons for Size, Mass & Speed
- 💡 A typical length of about 9 cm is similar to the long side of a credit card (about 8.6 cm) (Comparison).
- 💡 A height of 3 m above the ground is slightly more than the height of one story of an apartment building (about 2.4 m) (Comparison).
Reference standards: coach bus ~12 m, mid-size car ~4.9 m, compact car ~1 t, basketball hoop 3.05 m, credit card 8.56 cm.
📖 1. Overview
The Satanic Leaf-tailed Gecko is a small gecko living in the tropical rainforests of eastern Madagascar, camouflaging itself like a dead leaf.
🦴 2. Anatomy & Morphology
To match dead leaves, it is mottled brown, gray, or rust-colored, and its flattened tail closely resembles a dead leaf complete with decayed spots and missing pieces. It has large eyes with vertical pupils and horn-like pointed scales above each eye.
🔍 3. Ecology & Behavior
It spends most of its time blending in among bark and leaves in trees and bushes, rarely climbing more than about 3 m off the ground. Its wild diet is poorly known, while individuals in human care eat small invertebrates such as crickets and moths.
🇰🇷 4. Connection to Korea
No direct record connecting this species to Korea has been found.
📚 Sources & References
- • IUCN Red List LC (2020) — https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/172906/177285160
- • IUCN Red List category LC — latest assessment at iucnredlist.org
- • catalogueoflife.org — 7DXCQ
- • iucnredlist.org — 177285160
- • wikidata.org — Q873915
- • commons.wikimedia.org — File:Satanic leaf-tailed gecko (Uroplatus phantasticus) Rano
- • nationalzoo.si.edu — satanic-leaf-tailed-gecko
- • Silhouette: PhyloPic — Steven Traver · CC0 1.0
Recorded dimensions are widely cited representative estimates from public literature and may vary by study or specimen.